How do you legally change your last name?

Question:

How do you legally change your last name?

I want to change my last name from Goethe to Ferguson when I'm 18. My reason is that I get bullied for my last name because it's pronounced GAYthe, so people say I'm GAY. I'm planning on becoming a 7th grade school teacher and don't want my students to make fun of my name.

So how do I change my last name? I'm going to do it when I'm 18, as I previously stated.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Your family has been mispronouncing its name. :-) Goethe is a German patronymic (a byname indicating a person's father's name), pronounced G㖭teh, where 㶠is a vowel not used in English. You can approximate it by saying the 'a' in <able> or the 'e' in <let>, but with your lips rounded as if to pronounce the <o> in <over>. If you can't manage that sound no matter what you try, I'd recommend GO-teh as the closest approximation: the patronymic is from a pet form of Gottfried.

If you still want to change your name, you can simply start using a different name -- as long as you don't do it with fraudulent intentions, it's allowed -- but in today's day and age, you'll probably have an easier time of it if you do a legal change of name. The exact details of how to do this will vary depending on which state you live in; start with your state's website, or do a web search for "legal name change".